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Photos by Bob.Self@jacksonville.com Trailers are moved around the Crowley terminal property off Talleyrand Avenue as a 730-foot ocean-going barge is offloaded recently. The company is expecting much more work from an expansion plan that is ready to be initiated.

Crowley Maritime CEO Tom Crowley Jr.

Crowley workers do maintenance on the company's 730-foot ocean-going barge near their Talleyrand Avenue location.

Bob.Self@jacksonville.com Crowley Maritime designated Jacksonville home when it realized East Coast operations were driving the industry.

Crowley Maritime Corp. has already grown quickly in recent years, and now it’s launching an expansion that’s likely to secure its continued growth at the company headquartered in Jacksonville.

Crowley officials signed a contract this month to build as many as eight new petroleum tankers with Aker Philadelphia Shipyards Inc. in Philadelphia over the next four years. If all of the 330,000-barrel tankers are built, Crowley’s petroleum fleet will grow to 10 tankers and that’s in addition to 17 articulated tug barges which also ferry fuel.

The key to the current expansion of Crowley’s fleet is increased petroleum production from the relatively new technique commonly called “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing. The oil being produced in the United States from fracking, which injects high-pressure fluid into shale beneath the earth’s surface, is prompting the need for increased oil tankers, said Crowley CEO Tom Crowley Jr.

“This whole big change around domestic sourcing of crude came upon us very recently, a little bit more than 12 months ago,” Crowley said from the company’s offices just north of Regency Square mall Wednesday. “We now realize that there’s more opportunity to build additional tonnage. …”

The quick adjustment and willingness to diversify has become a staple in the Crowley business model. It’s led to the company’s growing gross revenues which came in at $1.79 billion in 2012, which was up over the $1.658 billion in 2011, according to figures provided by the company which remains privately held.

The Crowley portfolio exemplifies diversification:

■ Fuel distribution and sales operations throughout Alaska.

■ Gulf of Mexico energy support services based in Houston.

■ Pacific Ocean tug services based in Seattle.

■ Cargo shipping to the Caribbean basin and Central America from Port Everglade.

“I think Crowley is a very responsive company,” said Lynn Brown, associate director of the University of North Florida logistics flagship program. “They’re flexible. They get the right people into positions that are forward thinkers.”

Brown has experienced more than academic analysis of Crowley. She interned at the company in 2003 and several of her students have either interned there or have since been hired. Brown said the way Crowley has grown in Jacksonville is impressive.

The company officially designated its headquarters in Jacksonville in 2007 where it now has over 800 employees. But that was after having a presence on the First Coast since 1974. Crowley was founded in San Francisco in 1892 by Tom Crowley, Tom Crowley Jr.’s grandfather, and grew through the generations.

Jacksonville drew attention from the company after it was evident that the East Coast maritime influence was starting to drive the industry.

Aaron Bowman, senior vice president of business development for JAX USA Partnership, a business recruitment and development organization, said he’s encouraged by Crowley’s presence in Jacksonville.

“With other people, when you mention Crowley, it lights up their eyes because it’s instant name recognition,” said Bowman, who was the former commander of Mayport Naval Station. “The value of them being here is far greater than the wages they bring to the table.”

Bowman said the potential impact on business recruitment is huge when Crowley is mentioned for potential companies considering using port facilities in Jacksonville.

“If you mention Crowley, they realize they’re playing in the big leagues,” Bowman said.

The Crowley impact on Jacksonville is undeniable for both academic angles and employee benefits, too.

“It’s a terrific success story,” Brown said. “It’s fantastic for students in our [UNF] program. … For the city, it’s great to offer good-paying jobs with a reputable company that takes good care of their employees; it’s a coveted company to work for.”

Crowley is not a company that touts its successes in mass media form. Crowley said the company’s main concern is the “customers” that need their services and that remains industry specific.

But with that comes some very high-profile projects. Crowley remains the guiding tugboat service for petroleum tankers in Valdez, Alaska, in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill in 1989.

Crowley is also one of the key contractors handling the salvage and righting project for the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster off the Italian coast in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship ran aground and listed to one side in 2012 while efforts remain to “refloat” the ship.

While Crowley doesn’t shy away from huge projects, the company walks a delicate line in not exploiting sensitive and complicated work.

“We’re not there to make a name for ourselves or create some product that others are going to buy,” Crowley said.

Despite the company’s efforts to remain modest and avoid the limelight, with international commerce sometimes comes controversy. In 2010, Crowley found itself ensnared in a price-fixing scandal that had many in the Puerto Rico trade lane claiming several companies conspired to set shipping prices higher than they needed to be.

While two other Jacksonville shipping companies, Sea Star and Horizon Lines, saw some corporate officials criminally convicted as part of a U.S. Justice Department antitrust investigation, Crowley officials steered clear of any criminal liability.

There was also a class-action lawsuit filed by many of the clients of the companies receiving the shipping services. Crowley agreed to a $13.75 million settlement in that suit. While Crowley officials denied wrongdoing, they said the settlement was part of a strategic move to avoid the expense and burden of litigation.

“I think it was an unfortunate experience within their great history of the company,” Brown said of the price-fixing case. “But they were able to come out of it and move on.

“But to stay above the fray, I thought it was a good move because there’s nothing really to drag them into it. It could get worse, but it’s behind them,” Brown said.

Bowman said he doesn’t see any vulnerability to Crowley’s position in maritime services and the company’s reputation remains intact.

“I feel pretty comfortable in that they’re looking pretty good and they’re poised well for the future,“ Bowman said.

While Crowley himself still lives in San Francisco, he is at the Jacksonville headquarters at least a week out of every month. He said he remains pleased with designating Jacksonville as the heart of the company.

“We find Jacksonville to be a very attractive place to live and recruiting employees is relatively easy,” Crowley said.

“It’s cost of living, it’s climate and culture and Jacksonville has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. There’s a whole lot more here than there used to be.”

While the symbiotic relationship between Jacksonville and Crowley seems to be well balanced, Brown said the key in the company’s success at this point is its family heritage.